NEW YORK, May 24 (Reuters) - Officials from 19

Republican U.S. states urged major money managers on Thursday

not to vote against ExxonMobil's ( XOM ) directors at a meeting

next week where some shareholders plan to voice their opposition

to a lawsuit launched by the oil company against climate

activists.

The group, including Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy

Patronis and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, said in a

letter to companies including BlackRock ( BLK ), Goldman Sachs ( GS )

and JPMorgan ( JPM ) that Exxon's board "deserve our

thanks and support... for seeking to rein in activist

shareholders".

Exxon's pursuit of the case against Arjuna Capital and

Follow This over a proposal the company push for stricter

climate targets, even after the investor groups withdrew it, has

split opinion among shareholders and state officials.

A group of Democratic officials asked some of the same asset

managers to vote against the board earlier this week, saying the

suit would undermine shareholder rights. Norway's $1.6 trillion

sovereign wealth fund said on Friday it would vote against the

reappointment of Exxon director Joseph Hooley.

Not all signatories to Thursday's letter have direct control

over voting at companies where state pensions are invested, but

their taking a position marks a change from a previous

shareholder battle at Exxon, in which Democratic state pension

funds sided with a climate-focused hedge fund.

They did not explicitly call for a vote in favour of the

board at the May 29 meeting.

"These activists have been flooding corporate proxy

statements with politically motivated proposals thinly veiled as

business risk mitigation measures," the letter said.

BlackRock ( BLK ) did not respond to a request for comment. Goldman

Sachs ( GS ) and JPMorgan ( JPM ) declined to comment. Exxon, Arjuna Capital

and Follow This did not immediately respond to requests for

comment.

The Republican officials took particular issue with Arjuna

and Follow This asking Exxon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

from its suppliers and end-users, known as Scope 3.

"The only way that Exxon can eliminate Scope 3 emissions is

to shut down its operations, cap its wells, shutter its windows,

and fire its employees," the letter said.